1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to methods and devices for the nondestructive evaluation of materials. The present invention relates more specifically to a magnetostrictive sensor based system for the long range inspection of pipes and tubes made from ferromagnetic material.
2. Description of the Related Art
Magnetostrictive effect refers to the phenomena of a physical dimension change in ferromagnetic materials that occurs through variations in magnetization. In magnetostrictive applications, the generation and detection of mechanical waves is typically achieved by introducing a pulse current into a transmitting coil adjacent to a ferromagnetic material. The change in magnetization within the material located near the transmitting coil causes the material to change its length locally in a direction parallel to the applied field. This abrupt local dimension change, which is the magnetostrictive effect, generates a mechanical wave (called guided wave) that travels through the ferromagnetic material with a certain fixed speed (which is usually less than the speed of sound). When the mechanical wave is reflected back from the end of the ferromagnetic material, or from a defect in the ferromagnetic material, and reaches a detection coil, the mechanical wave generates a changing magnetic flux in the detection coil as a result of the inversed magnetostrictive effect. This changing magnetic flux induces an electric voltage within the detection coil that is proportional to the magnitude of the mechanical wave. The transmitting coil and the detection coil can be identical.
Advantages of using the magnetostrictive effect in nondestructive evaluation (NDE) applications include (a) the sensitivity of the magnetostrictive sensors, (b) durability of the magnetostrictive sensors, (c) no need to couple the sensor to the material being investigated, (d) long range of the mechanical waves in the material under investigation, (e) ease of implementation, and (f) low cost of implementation.
The use of magnetostrictive sensors (MsS) in the nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of materials has proven to be very effective in characterizing defects, inclusions, and corrosion within various types of ferromagnetic and non-ferromagnetic structures. A MsS launches a short duration (or a pulse) of guided waves in the structure under investigation and detects guided wave signals reflected from anomalies such as defects in the structure. Since guided waves can propagate long distances (typically 100 feet or more), the MsS technique can inspect a global area of a structure very quickly. In comparison, other conventional NDE techniques such as ultrasonics and eddy current inspect only the local area immediately adjacent to the probes used. Therefore, the use of magnetostrictive sensors offers a very cost effective means for inspecting large areas of steel structures such as strands, cables, pipes, and tubes quickly with minimum support requirements such as surface preparation, scaffolding, and insulation removal. The ability to use magnetostrictive sensors with little preparation of the object under inspection derives from the fact that direct physical contact between the sensors and the material is not required.
Efforts have been made in the past to utilize magnetostrictive sensor technologies in association with the inspection of both ferromagnetic and non-ferromagnetic materials. Included in these efforts are systems described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,456,113; 5,457,994; and 5,501,037, which are each commonly owned by the assignee of the present invention. The disclosures of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,456,113; 5,457,994; and 5,501,037, provide background on the magnetostrictive effect and its use in NDE and are therefore incorporated herein by reference. These efforts in the past have focused primarily on the inspection of pipe, tubing and steel strands/cables wherein the geometry of the structure is such that the cross-sectional diameter is small in comparison to the length of the structure. While these systems and their application to longitudinal structures find significant applications, there are yet other structures that could benefit from the use of magnetostrictive based NDE.
Other efforts have been made in the past to utilize sensors that measure magnetic flux and/or acoustic waves in structural materials. These efforts have included those described in the following patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,555,887 issued to Wood on Jan. 19, 1971 entitled Apparatus for Electroacoustically Inspecting Tubular Members for Anomalies Using the Magnetostrictive Effect and for Measuring Wall Thickness. This patent describes a system designed to direct a mechanical wave through the thickness dimension of a long tubular member. The sensitivity of the device is limited to the directing of a wavefront normal to the surface of the material under inspection and immediately back to a sensor when reflected from an opposite wall or an anomaly. U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,031 issued to Pfisterer, et al. on Nov. 14, 1989 entitled Eddy Current
Method and Apparatus for Determining Structure Defects in a Metal Object Without Removing Surface Films or Coatings. This patent describes a method for establishing localized eddy currents within ferromagnetic materials and recognizes the presence and effect of a coating in order to identify and quantify corrosion beneath the coating. As with other eddy current methods, the ability to inspect a material is limited to the area immediately adjacent to the sensor. U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,207 issued to Ara, et al. on Aug. 6, 1996 entitled Apparatus for Measuring the Thickness of the Overlay Clad in a Pressure Vessel of a Nuclear Reactor. This patent describes a system directed solely to the measurement of magnetic field variations that result from the distribution of the magnetic field through overlays of varying thickness. The system utilizes a magnetic yoke that is placed in close contact with the surface of the overlay clad of the pressure vessel.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,687,204 issued to Ara, et al. on Nov. 11, 1997 entitled Method of and Apparatus for Checking the Degradation of a Pressure Vessel of a Nuclear Reactor. This patent describes a system similar to the earlier issued Ara, et al. patent and utilizes a magnetic yoke having an excitation coil and a magnetic flux measuring coil that are placed in close contact with the inner wall of the pressure vessel. The hysteresis magnetization characteristics formed by the magnetic yoke and the pressure vessel wall are measured. Degradation of the material comprising the pressure vessel is inferred from a determination of the hardness of the material which is determined from the coercive forces obtained by analyzing the hysteresis characteristics of the magnetization.
In general, a magnetostrictive sensor consists of a conductive coil and a means for providing a DC bias magnetic field in the structure under inspection. The means for providing a bias magnetic field can include the use of either permanent magnets or electromagnets. In a transmitting magnetostrictive sensor, an AC electric current pulse is applied to the coil. The resulting AC magnetic field (a changing magnetic field) produces guided waves in an adjacent ferromagnetic material through the magnetostrictive effect. For pipes, cables, tubes, and the like, the waves are typically launched along the length of the longitudinal structure. In the receiving magnetostrictive sensor, a responsive electric voltage signal is produced in the conductive coil when the guided waves (transmitted or reflected from anomalies within the material) pass the sensor location, through the inverse magnetostrictive effect.
With MsS techniques, defects are typically detected by using the pulse-echo method well known in the field of ultrasonics. Since the sensor relies on the magnetostrictive behavior found in ferrogmagnetic materials, this technology is primarily applicable to the inspection of ferromagnetic components such as carbon steel piping or steel strands. It is also applicable, however, to the inspection of nonferrous components if a thin layer of ferromagnetic material, such as nickel, is plated or coupled onto the component in the area adjacent to the magnetostrictive sensors.
The magnetostrictive sensor technique has the advantage of being able to inspect a large area of material from a single sensor location. Such sensors have, for example, been used to accurately inspect a length of pipe or cable of significantly more than 100 feet. Further, magnetostrictive sensor techniques are comprehensive in their inspection in that the methods can detect both internal and external defects, thereby providing a 100% volumetric inspection. The techniques are also quite sensitive, being capable of detecting a defect with a cross-section less than 1% of the total metallic cross-section of cylindrical structures such as pipes, tubes, or rods. Finally, as indicated above, magnetostrictive sensor techniques do not require direct physical contact between the component surface and the sensor itself. This eliminates the need for surface preparation or the use of a couplant.